


Nobility

by Mozanii



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Aomine is a damn prince, Arranged Marriage, M/M, Romance, aomine just wants some love and kagami is an innocent angel, i suck at summaries honestly, that's all that needs to be said
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-09 09:51:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4343909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mozanii/pseuds/Mozanii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Historic!AU where Aomine is a prince and Kagami is a poor farmer. What happens when they meet? Are their social statuses too difficult to overcome?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. don't call me sama

“Aomine-sama.” 

The man could only sigh when he was ignored, once again. Instead of getting upset, he just cleared his throat and repeated himself. “Aomine-sama.”

Silence.

“ _Aomine-sa—_ “ His eyes widened when the navy-haired man, whose attention he had been trying to get for the past five minutes, finally responded to his voice.

“Oh my _god_ , what do you want Tetsu? Stop calling my name and just say whatever it is that you want.” Aomine responded, irritation clearly present in his voice.

“Aomine-sama, as the next upcoming ruler of this kingdom, I suggest that you start acting more mature and take care of your kingly duties.” Kuroko nagged him. Aomine ignored him and slouched further down in his throne, making his lower part of his back touching the seat of the chair and his legged drape on the armrest. Kuroko attempted to wrap his arm around Aomine’s armpit and tried to hoist him up, but Aomine only swatted his hands away and complained.

“Oi, stop touching me! This is how I’m comfortable!” Aomine groaned, swatting his assistant’s hands away from his body once more.

“But Aomine-sama, this position is highly unsightly for a king!” Kuroko finally decided to shut up when he caught one of Aomine’s menacing glares being thrown his way.

Ignoring the obvious daggers being thrown his way, he cleared his throat once more, “Anyway, I just came in to say that you have a meeting with the neighboring kingdom to meet the princess—“

“I’m not fucking going. This is such bullshit—“ Aomine was the one to be interrupted this time.

“We will be leaving in ten minutes. I expect you to be ready, Aomine-sama…and please, don't forget to wear your crown.” Kuroko said, quickly shutting the door behind him. Aomine pushed his body upright, before leaning forward on his elbows, massaging the space between his eyebrows and groaning to himself. He never asked for this to happen. It just wasn't his fault to be born into royalty. Just like how It wasn't his fault to be the _only_ son to inherit the throne.

**//**

Aomine sighed and dragged his lifeless body out the door, only to see that the carriage he was supposed to ride in was already out front. 

“Aomine-sama, did you bring your crown like I requested?” Kuroko asked, opening the door of the carriage for him.

“Yeah, yeah. Now get off my back, Tetsu. I know you’re my assistant, but stop hovering over me so much.” He said nonchalantly, twirling his crown around between his fingers carelessly.

“Aomine-sama, please be careful with that crown! It’s worth so much money and it was personally handcrafted from a jeweler –“ 

“You think I give a shit about some dumb piece of metal I place on my head that magically makes me better than everyone else? And stop calling me sama, you know I hate that.” Aomine sighed as he boarded the back of the carriage, slamming the door shut.

“Come on, let’s go.” Aomine complained before the coachman lightly whipped the horses to start walking.

“Please be on your best behavior when meeting the princess!” He heard a voice call from behind him, slowly growing more faint with distance. 

Aomine smiled to himself when he could finally relax, putting his feet up in the back seat he had all to himself. He was finally nodding off to sleep when suddenly a loud crash jolted him awake and made his head collide with the frame of the carriage. 

“What the hell was that?” Aomine asked the coachman, demanding answers for such a rude awakening.

“I’m incredibly sorry, Aomine-sama! The carriage seems to have blown a wheel, but don’t worry, we have extras in the back and I can fix it.” The coachman apologized, jumping out of his seat to go check if the prince was okay. 

“Aomine-sama, your forehead…it’s bleeding…” The coachman said shocked, looking for a handkerchief to hand to Aomine, but he only pushed his hand away and hopped out of the carriage.

“Listen it’s no big deal, just get it fixed as soon as possible. I don’t wanna prolong this stupid meeting for more than it has to last.” 

“Aomine-sama, are you sure? If you want to clean your face, there is a river just north of here. You are welcome to visit while I fix the wheel. I promise to have it fixed by the time you come back.” The coachman said obviously nervous of the repercussions of his accident. 

“Listen, there’s no problem here unless you’re gonna keep calling me sama. I know you heard me say that before, so stop doing it!” Aomine chastised him, before turning on his heels in search of the river. 

**//**

It had seemed like hours before Aomine had finally found the river. 

“‘ _Just north of here_ ’ could mean anything…it could be at the damn North Pole for all I could have known…” Aomine said to himself, dragging his feet in the dirt. He knew he would be chewed out later for getting his outfit dirty, but he doesn’t really care at this point.

When he finally reached the mouth of the river, all of Aomine’s negative emotions were immediately released from his thoughts as he gazed upon the sight before him. It had been years since Aomine had last set his gaze upon these same waters where he spent his childhood looking for crayfish in the shallow waters. 

Aomine slowly bent down, cupped his hands, and gathered the clear blue water in his palms to clean his face. He splashed the freezing water in his face, slowly opening his eyes to gaze in his reflection in the water.

“King, huh…” Aomine said to himself before quickly turning around when he heard the bushes behind him rustle.

“Who’s there!?” Aomine demanded at the presence only a few feet from him. He gazed at the bushes, which kept rustling into a figure finally popped out. 

Aomine locked eyes with the stranger before him. A strange-looking, as well as outrageously tall red-headed man with strange eyebrows and a very built physique. But then again, who was he to call someone else outrageously tall when they were about the same height?

“What do you want?” Aomine spat at the stranger.

“Uh...sorry. I didn’t know anyone was here. I’ll move down the river and out of your way.” The stranger apologized, dragging a basket full of clothes from behind him.

“It’s fine, I was just about to leave.” Aomine said, picking himself up from the ground and walking back the way he came. The stranger said nothing, as he emptied his clothes out of the basket and began to soak them in the river, rubbing soap between the fabric.

“What are you doing?” Aomine questioned curiously, leaning over him.

“Minding my own business. Leave me alone.” The red-haired stranger said, not looking up from his task.

“How dare someone like you speak to me that way! Don’t you know who I am?” Aomine was genuinely offended by the stranger’s rudeness. 

“Actually, I don’t know who you are and I don’t care. That’s why I’m asking you to leave and to let me do my work.” He replied.

Aomine was taken aback. Did he really not know the prince of the kingdom when he was standing only two feet away?

The stranger only sighed, slumping his shoulders. “Sorry, I’m in a bad mood. I didn’t mean to bark at you like that. But I’m washing my clothes, what does it look like? Have you never done it before?”

“Me? Wash clothes? No I have my servants wash my clothes for me.” Aomine shrugged.

“Servants?”

“I’m a prince.” Aomine stated, a slight smirk evident on his face through the tone in his voice. 

“Shut up and stop lying. I may have never gone to school, but I’m not that dumb…” The stranger laughed as he moved on to his next piece of clothing.

“I’m serious! I’m a prince and I’m about to become king!” Aomine defended, completely disregarding the other's previous statement.

“If you’re a prince, then where’s your crown? Your scepter? Your royal pieces of jewelry and bars of gold that you carry with you at all times?” The stranger was completely amused by the apparent joke.

“My crown is back with my carriage that broke down the road! I didn't bring any gold with me because it weighs down the carriage...” Aomine said flustered. Wait. Why was he trying to prove himself to a stranger anyway?

“That’s hilarious! What’s the great prince’s name?” The stranger was having a good time laughing at Aomine and his pouted face.

“Aomine! Prince Aomine Daiki!” 

“Well, ‘Prince Aomine’, I don't know you as royalty...I've never even heard of you! So as far as I'm concerned, you’re a basic working citizen. Just like me. So don’t expect me to bow down and start calling you sama or anything.” He huffed, causing Aomine’s eyes to widen. 

“I wouldn’t want you to.” Aomine smiled at the stranger lightly. Why was he even still talking to him anyway?

“Well are you going to stand around staring at me or are you going to help me?” 

“I guess so…” Aomine reluctantly reaches his hand into the laundry basket and hands him the next and final piece of clothing to wash. Moments of pass between the two, before the stranger finally stands up and stretches his body for a moment, and turns around to face Aomine.

“Kagami.” He says with a smile.

“Huh?” Aomine says confused.

“That’s my name! Kagami Taiga. Thanks for helping me, ‘ _Prince-sama_ ’.” Kagami says using air quotes and laughing at his own joke. 

Although Aomine wouldn’t admit it, when he saw Kagami’s sincere and genuine smile, he could feel his heart skip a few beats. Not enough to die, but enough to feel something strange in his chest of course. 

"Hey! I thought we had an agreement!"


	2. tomatoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aomine tries to be normal and goes shopping for his own food

Only a couple of days had passed, but Aomine couldn’t help but wonder how and when he would meet Kagami again. What was he going to do? Wander around aimlessly and wait by the river all day? Besides, he couldn’t figure out why he was so fixated on seeing his face again after only meeting him once. At least, for a reason he’s not willing to openly admit.

His train of thought was abruptly stopped when he heard a knock on the door. 

“Aomine-sama, may I come in?” Kuroko calls through the door.

“Not if you don’t stop calling me that.” Aomine responds plainly. Kuroko enters and quietly closes the door behind him, careful not to draw attention to his location.

“Tetsu, can I ask you an honest question?” Aomine questions.

“When have you ever held your opinions back? Go ahead and ask whatever is on your mind.” Kuroko says, taking a seat next to Aomine.

“Are we still friends? Aomine asks, looking Kuroko directly in his face.

“Of course!”

“Well if we’re still friends, then why do you treat me this way? Drop the –sama and start calling me my real name. Call me an idiot when I’m being stupid. Throw something at me when I’m being an idiot! Do something that reminds me we’re still friends!” Evidence of hurt tainted Aomine’s words as they fell from his lips.

“We’re still friends…of course we are. But sometimes I have to maintain a professional relationship in the public eye so I can keep my job and support my family.” Kuroko admits to his hurt friend. 

“Ever since your family was hired to work as assistants to mine, you’ve been acting so strangely towards me. You know we’ve been friends since we were young and I don’t think our positions should change our relationship.” Aomine confesses honestly.

“But you wouldn’t say that if our positions were switched. At the end of the day, we’re in two completely different social classes and as we grow older and have different responsibilities, we will end up not being able to relate to one another on certain things. For example, I will never know what it’s like to rule a kingdom and you’ll never know what it’s like to become a servant for someone and lead a normal life. Of someone who is not of royal blood. It’s a reality I’ve already accepted and that you should learn to accept.” Kuroko lectured Aomine, pausing when he caught glimpse of a slight pout in the other’s face. 

Kuroko decided that it was his time to leave for the day, so he quietly got up from his chair, bowed slightly to Aomine, then headed towards the front door.

“Tetsu, wait! What did you come in here for anyway?” Aomine asked.

Kuroko gave Aomine a light smile. “I just came to see how the meeting with Princess Momoi went. But I guess that will be a conversation reserved for another time.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Aomine says, sighing and sinking back into his chair. When Kuroko notices the frustration pent up in his friend, he wasn’t able to turn his back to him.

“What’s on your mind?” Kuroko asks genuinely.

“It’s just…nothing. How do I become more ‘normal’, Tetsu? How does one become normal when they’re a damn prince? I’m the _furthest_ thing from average…” Aomine continues.

“Just try doing “normal people” things. You know, like cooking your own food? Ironing and washing your own clothes?” Kuroko lists many things.

“I guess you’re right, Tetsu. You’re always right.” Aomine says, contemplating what he would do for the rest of the day. Kuroko gazes at his lifelong friend, noticing something deeper was wrong, but it was something Aomine would not say to him.

“Whenever you’re ready to tell me what’s truly on your mind, you know where I will be. I’ll see you later, Aomine-kun.” Kuroko says, waving at Aomine with a smile before shutting the door behind him. 

Normal…

“Ugh, what the fuck is normal anyway?” Aomine screams at himself, grabbing is head in anger in defeat.

**//**

After cycling through several ideas, Aomine ultimately decides that he will take the most basic step of becoming a normal citizen by buying his own food for the day. Aomine grabs his bag of money and prepares to head out of the door when several of the palace guards block his way.

“I’m sorry, Aomine-sama, but we cannot allow you to go outside without accompaniment.” One of the guards warns hesitantly.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be back in an hour or two.” Aomine tries to shake them off, but they lower their hands to block his pathway.

“Aomine-sama, please. It is in your best interest to take some guards with you.” The second guard warns.

“I’m telling you I’ll be okay. Now let me through.” Aomine tries to push past, but once again, they block his pathway.

“Aomine-sa—“

“I swear if you don’t leave me the _fuck_ alone, I’ll kill every single last one of you.” Aomine warns sternly, danger looming in his dark eyes. That warning was enough for the guards to let him through, worry plastered on their faces as he finally pushed past them and walked down the street.

“What the hell do I know about food? What am I even looking for?” Aomine talks to himself, walking down the street, ignoring the surprised looks of the surrounding townspeople. 

Aomine finally finds, or what he assumes to be, the town marketplace, as crowds of loud, rowdy people shouting all sorts of names and prices fills his ears. 

“Aomine-sama, please accept these potatoes!” One voice calls to him.

"Aomine-sama, please consider my daughter as your next bride! She's very beautiful!" A voice from behind him shouts. 

“Aomine-sama, please take this goat as a gift of our gratitude!” Another voice calls to him from the opposite side. 

Gratitude for what exactly? He hadn’t done anything that would remotely require someone to give them a gift of thanks, and quite frankly, he was tired of all the fake positivity and general ass-kissing that came his way whenever he encountered the general public. 

“Wow, Prince-sama, I didn’t know you were so popular in town.” A familiar voice calls to him from beneath him. Wait a minute…’Prince-sama’?

Aomine glanced down to see Kagami on a neatly folded cloth blanket on the ground, surrounded by loads of vegetables and fruits, giving him that award-winning smile. Damn that smile.

“Kagami, what the hell are you doing?” Aomine asks full of surprise, secretly overjoyed that he met him again.

“Will you stop asking me that question when everything I’m doing is as obvious as it looks…” Kagami complains, mouth slightly poking out at his questions. 

“Right, right…” Aomine trails off, looking at what Kagami is selling.

“Are you going to just stare or are you going to buy something?” Kagami questions playfully.

“I guess I’ll take a couple of these tomatoes…how do I know which ones are good?” Aomine asks honestly.

“Well to begin with, all of my produce is good! But you can tell if tomatoes are ripe if they are kind of glossy and shiny. They will also have a deep red color and when you press them, they will give way slightly.” Kagami informed.

“Really?” Aomine says as he picks one up and presses it a little too hard, creating a deep dent in the tomato by accident.

“Hey, idiot! Why did you press so hard?” Kagami snatches the tomato from his hand, analyzing the bruised vegetable.

“Sorry, I didn’t know! I’ve never handled a non-cooked tomato before! It’s just weird even being here…” Aomine scratched the back of his head when he saw Kagami’s face change to a slightly questioning gaze.

“Are you telling me you’ve never touched a raw tomato before? That’s ridiculous.” Kagami continues.

“Don’t make fun of me!” Aomine says, a light blush staining his cheeks, causing Kagami to laugh a little.

“You’re crazy.”

By this time, Aomine can’t believe he embarrassed himself so badly and decides he wants to go back home and never leave his house ever again. “Whatever, just give me about a dozen tomatoes!” He says still obviously flustered. 

Kagami bags his tomatoes and hands them over to Aomine, who in exchange, hands him a small velvet bag in return.

“Thanks for the tomatoes, I’ll see you around later. I didn’t have any actual money on me, so hopefully that will do.” Aomine quickly turns around and is about to quickly powerwalk away, when Kagami calls him once more.

“Hey, I’m here every Sunday in this same spot, okay?” Kagami smiles at him again. At this point, Aomine wishes he could sew Aomine’s mouth together so he could stop making his heart beat faster whenever he would give him that damn smile. 

Kagami glances at the velvet bag that Aomine had given him earlier. 

“If you don’t have money, then what is this…?” Kagami said to himself, examining the elegant bag. It was almost too nice of a bag to just give away to hold money in anyway. Kagami untied the top and poured the contents into his palm, revealing a solid gold bar.

“What the hell…” Kagami jumps, nearly dropping the gold piece onto the floor. Gold for some regular tomatoes he grew on his tiny plot of land? What kind of person has that kind of money to just give away on a whim?

By the time Kagami could contest to the overpayment, Aomine was already out of sight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to look up signs of ripe tomatoes can you believe this nonsense


	3. fishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bonding time

The following Sunday, Aomine couldn’t help but feel hesitant about going to the marketplace to see Kagami again. Was he telling him his location for him to visit him or just to buy his produce from him? Either way, Aomine decided he was going to go since he didn’t know where he was any other day.

Aomine’s train of thought was interrupted when Kuroko popped his head in through his door. “Aomine-kun, please do not forget you have another meeting with Princess Momoi in about two hours. It’s very important that you attend and are prompt.” Kuroko could only frown at the prince, clearly ignoring all of his words.

“Oi Tetsu, tell the guards to back down. I’m going out for a walk to the marketplace again.” Aomine said, standing up to fix his clothes.

“Did you even hear a word of what I _just_ said? Also, what’s with your sudden fascination with the market? You’ve never went any other time.” Kuroko asked.

Aomine was nervous, but he wouldn’t let Kuroko know. “I just…like to see all the produce that they sell down there! It’s really amazing to see all the different colors and shapes that fruits and vegetables come in…That’s all.” Aomine knew it was the fakest and least-believable excuse in the whole world, but hopefully Kuroko wouldn’t notice. 

Aomine turned around to look at Kuroko, whose voice was silent, but his eyes were judging him hard. He started to get extremely fidgety and nervous from the silence in the room and his friend staring at him with his soul-piercing blue gaze.

“What!?” Aomine complained.

“I want to see this mind-blowing produce too. I’m going with you.” Kuroko admitted.

“You can’t go!” Aomine said nervously.

“Why? Is there something you don’t want me to see? …Someone?” Kuroko eyed him suspiciously.

Aomine immediately felt a strange cold chill run down his spine at Kuroko’s sudden, and also, scarily true allegation. “What the hell, Tetsu? You really think I’m that sneaky and secretive?” 

“I’ll believe you, but don’t forget that I’ve known you longer than anyone else has. You can’t hide things from me.” Kuroko said plainly.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.” 

**//**

Kuroko and Aomine walked down the familiar streets until they arrived at the marketplace once more. Aomine could feel Kuroko tense a little when everyone turned around and gasped excitedly at their presence.

“Let’s just walk fast.” Aomine said, tugging Kuroko through the crowd.

“Do you have a specific stall you want to visit?” The shorter man questioned.

“Not in particular.” Aomine lied, heading straight to Kagami’s booth. 

“Hey!” Aomine calls to Kagami, who was currently packing up his produce into his trusty basket. Kagami turned around suddenly at the sudden call and when he locked gazes with Aomine, his face turned into a slight scowl.

“Hey dumbass, you owe me for those tomatoes from last week!” Kagami’s frown deepened.

“Dumbass?” Kuroko questioned, looking up at Aomine.

Aomine was completely taken aback by the unfriendly greeting, but what else could he do but return with an equally unfriendly diatribe.

“You’re the dumbass! I already paid you!” Aomine defended himself.

“You _overpaid_ me. Gold for tomatoes? Are you crazy? What are you trying to prove?” Kagami was becoming visibly more upset as the conversation continued.

“I don’t see the problem. Any other person would be happy they got that kind of deal!” 

“Well I’m not any other person. Prince? Royalty? I don’t give a damn. I don’t take handouts.” Kagami demanded, shoving the velvet bag into Aomine’s forehead.

“Listen, Kagami. I honestly didn’t have anything else on me. I swear that there wasn’t any ill intention behind what I did. I’m sorry.” Aomine sincerely apologized, making Kuroko’s eyes widen in shock. This was the first time he had ever heard Aomine say ‘sorry’ to someone without sarcasm dripping from his words. 

Kuroko glanced at both Aomine and Kagami, feeling he needed to break the tension between the two. He cleared his throat, “Excuse me, Kagami-san. Is that correct?” 

Kagami nodded, allowing Kuroko to continue. “As you may already know, Aomine-kun is an extreme idiot. Please excuse him for his insensitive behavior and accept this payment.” Kuroko bowed his head and handed Kagami a few paper bills he carried with him in his pocket. 

Aomine was about to protest, but his heart calmed when he saw Kagami’s face soften. “Hey, Tetsu. Can you go buy some cabbage at that booth over there?” Aomine pointed to some random booth at the very end of the market.

“Why that specific booth? What’s wrong with the cabbage Kagami-san is selling right here?” Kuroko questioned innocently. Or perhaps, not so innocently.

“The cabbage over there tastes the best. So…can you please buy some for me?” Aomine tried to hint the best way he could. 

Kuroko stared at Aomine for a few seconds, studying his facial expressions and his obvious hints to leave the two alone. “Alright, I’ll be back.” 

After Aomine watched Kuroko walk a considerable distance away from him and Kagami, he turned to face the redhead. “Listen, I seriously didn’t mean anything by it. I wasn’t try to –“ 

“I get it. I feel as if I was overreacting now…” Kagami gave a nervous laugh. 

Aomine could only smile at Kagami, who was obviously feeling guilty about his outburst in the middle of the market. “How are you going to make it up to me?” He said, his smile turning into a smirk.

“Uh…if you want…you can stop by my house for dinner. I was in the middle of packing my stuff up anyway.” Kagami suggested.

“Dinner with you? Right _now_?” Aomine gasped.

“Well yeah, and my mom too of course. I’ll be cooking.” Kagami continued, unfazed by Aomine’s surprise.

‘I feel like there was something I had to do tonight…’ Aomine thinks to himself for a few moments, before deciding ‘fuck it’. “Yeah sure, that sounds great. Now let’s leave before Kuroko comes back. He’ll ask too many questions.” Aomine laughed, helping Kagami pack up his vegetables before they left together.

**//**

“So which street do you live on?” Aomine asked curiously.

“Street? Don't be ridiculous!I don’t live in the city. I live outside the city…actually near the river.” Kagami laughed, causing Aomine to give a strange look of confusion.

“We’ll have to walk through the woods a little bit, but I promise the walk isn’t that far.” Kagami said.

“Here, let me help you carry the baskets.” Aomine offered his hands out.

Now it was Kagami’s turn to look at him strangely, before handing him the basket he was holding over his shoulder. “If you insist.” 

Aomine grabbed the basket from Kagami, yelping a little at the surprisingly heavy basket. “What the hell, why do you vegetables weigh this much?” 

“I gave you the lighter basket! You really haven’t done any intense labor in your life, have you?” Kagami laughs at Aomine’s pout. 

“Hey we’re here. After you set the basket down, can you grab the empty bin and the knife on the table over there?” Kagami says as he opens the front door, allowing the both of them inside.

Aomine glances at Kagami’s house, purely in shock. It was a very, very modestly small log-cabin house composed only of one floor level and one window on each side of the house. In the corner was a small bed, too small to fit Kagami’s body length at least. Aomine continued looking around until he jumped when he saw a figure move in the bed. 

“Oh mom, did we wake you? I brought a friend over, I hope you don’t mind.” Kagami smiles at the woman lying in the bed, helping her sit up.

“Oh, a friend? You should have told me, I wouldn’t have stayed in bed!” His mom complains, fixing her shirt.

“No it’s fine, he’s just staying for dinner. You should rest some more…don’t overexert yourself, mom.” Kagami’s face turns into a look of concern.

Aomine walks over to Kagami’s mother’s bedside and offered her his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. There’s no need to get up if you’re feeling unwell.” He says, bowing slightly.

“What’s your name dear? You’re very handsome.” She smiles at him. 

At first Aomine was offended that she didn’t recognize him, but then again, it must run in the family. “Ah, thank you! My name is Aomine Daiki. Thank you for having me for dinner today.” 

“Ah, Taiga! He’s very well-mannered! I’m glad you could make a friend…I know how busy you are.” She smiles and places her hand on Kagami's arm, causing him to blush slightly.

“A-anyway mom, we’re going to head down to the river for dinner. We’ll be back soon!” Kagami grabbed Aomine’s arm, and led him outside quickly. 

“River? I thought we were eating dinner?” Aomine questioned.

“Where do you think we get dinner from?” 

**//**

Aomine followed Kagami down a forest path to reach the familiar river where they had once met. He turns around to talk to Kagami, but his eyes widen when he sees Kagami scaling a very tall tree and breaking a branch.

“What the hell are you doing?” Aomine yells in disbelief.

“I’m going to catch some fish for dinner.” Kagami says, jumping down carefully from the tree with a thick branch about his height in length. “Give me the knife.” 

Aomine studied Kagami’s hands as he watched him cut the end of the stick to a sharp point. “You’re going to spear a fish?” 

“Yeah. Maybe next time I should catch it with my hands and see how it turns out for me.” Kagami laughs at his own sarcastic comment, making Aomine frown. 

Kagami rolls up the bottoms of his pants and slowly steps into the shallow waters of the river. Although it took some time, Aomine watched in amazement as Kagami stood perfectly still, but yet in position, ready for a fish to come across his path. He jumped when Kagami suddenly forced his spear into the water with such precision and accuracy, it barely made a splash. Kagami pulled his spear from the water, smiling at the fish at the end of his stick. 

“You’re crazy…” Aomine laughs, sitting down against a tree to watch Kagami catch more. 

**//**

It didn’t seem too long before Kagami came out from the river with ten fish wiggling in his bin. He poured a little water into the bin to keep the fish alive, then sat down next to Aomine to rest his legs.

“Seems like hard work…” Aomine says, peering into the fish bin.

“I’m used to it by now. You kind of have to when you can’t afford to buy fish from the market.” Kagami jokes, causing Aomine to smile lightly.

Aomine gazes at Kagami for a moment, “Hey Kagami, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…” 

“What?” Kagami leans his head back against the tree and closes his eyes.

“You don’t have much…but you seem completely content with your life. How is that?” He asks genuinely.

“When you say ‘much’, you mean in terms of money? Hell yeah, we’re a dirt poor family. We survive by hard intensive labor every single day. But, we’re still a family. Even if a family is made of two people, my mom is the most important person in the world to me. As long as I have her, I feel like I have enough to keep me going. Money can’t smile at you…money can’t welcome you back home after a long day of work. I’m fine with the life I have now and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If it means I have to work a little bit harder for what I want, that's fine by me.” Kagami admits honestly.

“Ah…you’re lucky you have your mom. I had both of my parents around, but they never took care of me…after all, that’s what the servants are for right?” Aomine gave a bitter laugh, causing Kagami to open his eyes and look at the man.

“Aomine…”

“You’re completely right. I may be a prince and I may be the richest person in the whole kingdom, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t mean shit when I don’t have anybody by my side. I miss the old days where I would come by the river and just look for crayfish underneath rocks without a care in the world. When my dad passed away, now I'm about to become the new king. Now it’s like…all of a sudden, all the pressure to rule is on me now. It’s lonely at the top, Kagami…” Aomine trails off.

“That’s not true, Aomine. You seem pretty close with the little blue guy from the market today…plus, it is safe to assume that…we’re friends?” Kagami hesitates.

Aomine turns to smile at him once more, “You’d want to be friends with a bitter, sarcastic asshole that also happens to be a prince?” 

“I told you this when we first met…you’re just a normal person to me. Even now that I know you’re a prince, that doesn’t change my view of you. So…you’re just a bitter, sarcastic asshole.” Kagami laughs at his own joke, causing Aomine to push him in the shoulder playfully. 

"That's...probably the first time I've been happy to be called an asshole."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor kuroko left alone with his cabbages


	4. bearer of bad news

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aomine gets a surprise guest(s)!

The two men were sitting on the ground, a bin of fish on one side, a pile of sticks on the other side, and a giant hole in the front of them. 

“I’ll get the fire started, so make yourself useful and stick the fish.” Kagami instructs.

“ _Stick them_?” Aomine was confused, and unadmittedly, a little scared.

Kagami pointed to the surrounding trees, “Yeah, take some branches and put the fish through them so we can roast them over the fire.” 

“This seems a little…barbaric…” Aomine said, unease and hesitance taking over his body. 

“Are you going to do it or not?” Kagami frowned.

“I’ll do it! I want this experience!” Aomine said, determination now filling his voice, causing Kagami to laugh a little. 

“You’re very determined aren’t you?” Kagami asks.

“Of course I am!” Aomine gives him a thumbs up. 

“I wonder what’s next on your list of “normal people activities”.” Kagami said using air quotes.

“I guess I have to spend some more time with you to find out.” Aomine immediately regrets the words as soon as they left his mouth, but to his relief, Kagami didn’t seem to notice his words and continued working on his fire pit.

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Kagami looks up from his fire to smile at Aomine.

Aomine feels his body start to heat up a little bit. ‘This must be from the fire,’ he reasons with himself in his mind until a familiar voice calls his name. 

“Aomine-kun?” Kuroko calls, popping his head out of the woods.

“Tetsu, what the hell are you doing here?” Aomine gasped.

“I can say the same for you, Aomine-kun. Not only did you left me in the marketplace, but you’re running late with your dinner with the princess.” Kuroko’s frown turns into pure shock when he realizes Kagami is sitting next to Aomine. 

“Reschedule it, I’m busy.” Aomine shrugs him off.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Aomine-kun.” Kuroko warns.

“Why not?”

“This is an important dinner, Aomine-kun. This isn’t only about you, this is about the future of the kingdom. Don’t let your infatuation with Kagami-kun get in the way of your duties.” Kuroko said bluntly.

Almost instantly, a deep blush filled not only Aomine’s cheeks, but almost all of his skin from his shoulders up. “I-infatuation? Don’t be ridiculous!” He stutters out.

Kuroko remained his blank stare before continuing, “Please, Aomine-kun. I can’t say why right now, but please, just come with me.” His face morphing into a look of concern.

“What’s wrong, Tetsu?” Aomine asked, but before Kuroko could respond, he sees another figure rise from behind the bushes. 

“Daiki, what is the meaning of this?” A navy, long-haired woman with Aomine’s identical skin complexion stands before the three men. After her, two other men, who were guards from Aomine’s palace, step out as well. Kagami could only watch as Aomine’s face goes from confusion to concern to pure horror.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Aomine is completely mortified.

“Never mind me, what are you doing here in the middle of these dirty woods in front of this lowly house? Is this the company you keep while I’m away?” She says, giving a glance at Kagami.

“Mom, stop. Kagami and I are friends, please don’t do anything rash. He invited me over for dinner and –“ 

“Dinner? What…these fish on branches? Has your palette completely gone to trash? Let’s go, we have an actual dinner with people of proper status.” She scoffs. 

Kagami glances at Aomine, who is now looking completely mortified, yet ashamed his mother had come to abduct him. Personally, he didn’t mind the insults that were thrown his way, but Aomine, on the other hand, looked completely destroyed. 

“It’s okay Aomine, you can go.” Kagami reassure, while still avoiding eye contact. 

“I don’t want to go, Kagami. You don’t deserve to be treated this way…” Aomine looks torn.

“This isn’t a matter of choice, Daiki. If you don’t want to go, I’ll just have to make you come back by force.” His mother frowns. 

The two palace guards stepped forward, wrapping their arms around Aomine’s upper arms, lifting him off the ground.

“What the _fuck_ , let go of me!” Aomine screams at the two, thrashing his arms.

“I’m sorry, Aomine-sama. We were ordered not to let you go underneath any circumstances.” One of the guards apologized, guilt filling his features. 

“Excuse me, I will collect Aomine-sama’s belongings and will meet you back in the palace. Please go on ahead without me.” Kuroko bowed lightly to Aomine’s mother.

“That’s fine. Be careful on your way back.” She says before ordering the guards to start walking. 

After the group was out of sight, Kuroko gazes at Kagami, who was currently staring at the ground in silence.

“Aomine didn’t bring anything with him.” Kagami explains.

“Kagami-san…” Kuroko pauses before continuing, “I would like to apologize on their behalf.” 

“It’s not a big deal, honestly. I should have expected this to happen. I mean…look at how different we are. ” He chuckles bitterly.

“Kagami-san, can I be honest with you?” Kuroko asks.

“Yeah, sure.”

“To be honest, I’ve been hiding in those bushes for quite some time before I stepped out. Basically, I was there since you two returned from fishing.” He pauses when Kagami’s eyes widen.

“I was just observing…eavesdropping if you will. But from what I saw, I’ve never seen Aomine-kun look like that before.” Kuroko continues.

“What do you mean?” Kagami questions.

“More like never…Aomine-kun is a very…abrasive person, if you must describe him. He’s rude, arrogant, blunt, and he often rubs people the wrong way. He hasn’t always been this way, as I was his friend since childhood, but due to some changes, my status has been changed from friend to associate. But, since I’ve known him for so long, I can see evident changes in him when he’s with you. You must be the reason he keeps sneaking out and causing me so much headache. ” Kuroko sighs, pausing to catch his thoughts. 

“The conversations between you two…the laugh he has when he’s with you…the smile that’s almost permanently plastered on his face… it’s something I haven’t seen in a long time.” Kuroko begins to notice Kagami’s light blush forming on his cheeks.

“What are you trying to say?” Kagami stares at Kuroko directly in his eyes.

“I’m saying that although it might take Aomine-kun ten lifetimes for him to admit his feelings for you, so I’m saying it on his behalf…I guess as a favor for treating him so badly recently.” Kuroko pauses once more.

“…And since I don’t know you that well, Kagami-san, I’m pleading with you. If you care about Aomine-kun even in the slightest bit, romantically or not, please don’t give up on him.”  
Kagami pokes the ground with his finger, contemplating the whole situation. “I do care about him.” He admits.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Kuroko smiles.

**//**

 

“Once again, I would like to apologize on my son’s lack of punctuality.” Aomine’s mother says, drinking a sip of wine.

“Oh no, it’s quite fine. I’m just happy to see that he’s alright. Aren’t you happy to be here, Daiki?” Princess Momoi says, smiling brightly at Aomine who was currently picking at his food.

Aomine was slouching on the dinner table, his whole head resting on his left arm. “Yeah.” He says disinterested.

“So how was your day, Aomine-san?” Momoi tries to converse with Aomine some more.

“Alright.” Aomine keeps playing with his food, avoiding eye contact with everyone at the table.

“What he means is that he was having a bad day until he came here to see your beautiful face, Momoi-san!” His mother tries to save face.

“If that was what I meant, I would have _fucking_ said it. Stop speaking for me.” Aomine barked.

“Daiki! Watch your language in front of our guest!” His mother chastises. 

“Oh no, don’t worry! It’s fine! I just want to get to know Daiki some more.” Momoi smiles.

“Alright, I’ll take the hint. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone!” His mother smiles, getting up from the table and leaving the two to eat together.

“So, Daiki –“ 

“ _Stop_ calling me that. You don’t know me.” Aomine interrupts her.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you, Aomine-san. I just wanted to get on better terms with you before our marriage ceremony.” She apologizes.

“Our _what_?” Aomine is immediately at attention.

“Your mother didn’t tell you? That’s what this dinner was about and that’s why she came back from her trip early! She finalized the wedding plans!” She frowns.

“What the hell…” Aomine was in complete shock once more for the second time today. Before she left, his mother told him that she was going to leave to do some business, but as usual, he just brushed her off. He didn’t even hug her goodbye before she left. Why would he? It’s the same thing as watching a stranger leave.

“Yes, the wedding is planned for a month from now. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m excited at least! I get to be the queen to such a handsome king!” She says excitedly, clapping her hands together.

Aomine couldn't even respond and zoned out when she continued talking about god knows what. She didn't even seem to notice he wasn't even paying attention to her in the slightest. The only thing that he could think about was what, or how he was going to tell Kagami. _If_ he would ever get the chance to see him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY OMG?


	5. searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kuroko is #1 wingman

It had been about three weeks since Aomine saw Kagami, nevertheless, even left his room. He had finally met someone that interested him beyond a couple of minutes. Someone that had caught his attention so severely that he was beginning to have physical aches to see Kagami again and it was becoming unbearable. 

Unfortunately, his mother put him on strict lockdown and wouldn’t let Aomine leave the palace without accompanied guards with him at all times. So what else could he do except lay in his bed all day in his slump? For numerous days now, Kuroko had witnessed his friend go from pure happiness to a mild depression, and quite frankly, he felt guilty about even being involved in the incident in the first place.

Kuroko knocked and peeked his head in through Aomine’s door, “Aomine-kun, do you want to get out of your bed today?”

“Does it _look_ like I plan on leaving my bed?” Aomine mumbles from underneath the covers, grabbing his pillow to pull over his head.

“Aomine-kun, you’ve barely eaten and haven’t showered for days now!” Kuroko complained.

“I don’t care! I’d rather sit here in my own filth than get married to someone I barely even know. I barely know her name! What did you come in here for anyway?” Aomine grumbles some more.

Kuroko blinks at his pitiful friend who was currently jumbled in his sheets, piles of dirty dishes stacked high on his countertop from not leaving his room or caring to let anybody in besides Kuroko. “Aomine-kun, I just came by to inform that your mother is allowing you to leave without guards today if –“ 

“Really!?” Aomine sat up excitedly.

“—If you accompany me to see wedding venues around the city. That’s the only exception.” Kuroko continues.

“ _No way_. Why would I want to do that?” Aomine frowns.

“You need to breathe air outside of your room…it’s just for a few hours. Then, you can come back and drag yourself back into bed.” Kuroko explains.

“No.”

“I won’t leave you alone until you agree.” Kuroko says plainly, causing Aomine to frown deeply. At that moment, Aomine began questioning his life decisions and why he even became friends with Kuroko in the first place. 

“Whatever, leave so I can get dressed.” Aomine gave into his request.

"Please shower before you put on new clothes, Aomine-kun."

**//**

Kuroko and Aomine walked down numerous streets until they reached a final building. In front of them stood a church that had almost rivaled Aomine’s palace in its grandeur and immense size. 

“Isn’t this nice?” Kuroko tries to make conversation, but Aomine’s frown never left his face.

“It’s alright. Why did you drag me out here in the rain?” He grumbles at the raindrops beginning to fall on his arms. 

“Aomine-kun, I’m going to and look inside to see if it’s a suitable place for your wedding. You don’t have to come inside if you don’t want to.” Kuroko says, trying to hint in the best way possible.

Aomine, being as dense as he was, merely complained. “Why would you drag me all the way out here for me to stare at the outside of some building?”

“I just thought you would enjoy some alone time. By yourself. Unsupervised. For numerous hours.” Kuroko tries to spell it out the clearest way possible, but Aomine just gave him a blank stare. Kuroko could literally see ‘ _???_ ’ written on his forehead.

Kuroko sighed at his friend. “I’m going to turn my back and head inside. I’m going to act surprised when you’re not outside when I come back. Do you understand?” 

At that moment, Aomine finally realized what Kuroko was hinting at and immediately draped his shoulder around the shorter man, pulling him in closer to his body.

“Tetsu, you’re the best! Do you know that?” Aomine grinned and laughed at Kuroko’s surprise.

“Of course I know…” Kuroko joked. “Now go before I change my mind and regret this.”

**//**

At this point, the rain finally picked up intensity and it was pouring outside. However, it didn’t matter to Aomine, as ran full speed towards the woods, splashing in all sorts of puddles and mud. There is no way he would leave Kagami’s house without getting his message across. After all, the wedding was within a week and he had no time to play around.

Finally seeing Kagami’s house in sight, Aomine ran up to the door and frantically knocked on the front door. Knocked is sort of a gentle word, but it was more of a loud, frantic bang.

Suddenly, the door swung open and there stood a wide-eyed Kagami. “Aomine, what the hell are you doing here? And why are you all dirty?” 

Why was here in the first place? What did he have to say to Kagami exactly? The idea sounded great in theory, but in reality, he hadn’t planned it out in his head yet and merely relied on pure instinct. “I thought you said you wanted to spend more time with me?” Aomine joked, recalling their previous conversation.

“Well, yeah…but I thought that offer was invalid after what happened? And why so randomly?” Kagami said confused.

“Don’t worry, its fine. Can I come in?” Aomine asked, before Kagami stepped aside, letting him into his house.

“We were just about to eat dinner. I can set out an extra bowl if you haven’t eaten yet?” Kagami asked, still surprised at Aomine’s sudden appearance.

“Yeah, I’m starving!” Aomine says, taking a seat next to Kagami’s mother at the table. He bows slightly and greets her, “Good afternoon, Kagami-san. It’s nice to see you’re doing well today.”

“Aomine-kun, wasn’t it? It’s been a while since you’ve stopped by!” She says, smiling at him.

“Yeah, I’ve been having a hard time lately, but all that matters is that I’m here now.” 

“That’s exactly right! I’m so glad to have you here…or should I say _we_ are happy to have you back. Taiga hasn’t stopped talking about you since you last came here!” His mother laughs, causing Kagami to turn around in shock. Did his mother just say that out loud?

Aomine, on the other hand, couldn’t help but smile. “I’m happy to hear that.” And he truly meant it. 

Kagami, who still blushing furiously at his mother’s comment, put the pot in the middle of the table. “I-It’s ready.” He stammers out, avoiding eye contact with Aomine.

After they all filled their bowls with soup, Kagami’s mother spoke up once again. “As I said before, Aomine-kun, it’s really nice that Kagami has a friend that comes by. I know that he works a lot and it’s hard to make friends when you’re preoccupied with supporting a family. Due to my sickness, I can’t work and I hate to put that burden on my son.” She admits.

“Sickness?” Aomine inquires.

“Yes, I’m not sure what it is, but I have chills and am easily fatigued. I’ve even lost a lot of weight, but not in the way I wanted to.” She attempts to laugh, but only coughing in the process.

“Why don’t you visit a doctor?” Aomine asks.

“Doctor? Oh sweetie, we just can’t afford that kind of luxury right now. I’d probably have to sell everything I own to be able to afford medicine.” She admits, causing Kagami to stand up suddenly.

“If you would excuse me for a moment.” He says, scooting his chair in before opening the door to go outside.

Aomine is about to follow Kagami, but Kagami’s mother grabs him arm quickly. “Taiga hates when I talk about my sickness. It’s almost as if he’s in denial.” She laughs weakly.

Aomine’s heart almost wrenches in pain, “I’m so sorry to hear that. Kagami’s never mentioned it to me before. If there’s anything I can do…anything…just tell me and I can make it happen.” 

“Oh no, dear, I didn’t mean to worry or trouble you. I’m just happy if you keep being there for Taiga, no matter what happens to me in the future.” She smiles as she ruffles his hair and Aomine smiles warmly at her.

“If I could trouble you one more time, could you please walk me over to my bed? I’m feeling quite tired after my meal.” She asks.

“Sure, it’s no problem at all.” Aomine steadies her and slowly walks over to her bed in the corner. Slowly, but surely, she lowers her body into the bed and Aomine fluffs her pillow and pulls the covers over her. 

“Thank you so much.” She places her hand over the top of his, causing his eyes to widen. Aomine stood by her bedside as she slowly drifted into slumber and he gently pulled his hand away. 

He quietly walked across the room and opened the door to join Kagami outside. Aomine gazed at the redhead, who was sitting on the steps of his front porch, staring at the ground. He stepped forward, closing the door behind him, and taking a seat next to the silent man.

“You didn’t get to eat much.” Aomine says finally.

“I’ll be okay.” Kagami says plainly.

“Why didn’t you tell me your mother was sick?” Aomine addresses the elephant in the room.

“I’m not exactly sure how that would come up in casual conversation." He answers.

"Don't snap, Kagami, it was just a question." Aomine get a bit defensive.

"What am I supposed to say? The reason I’m at the marketplace every Sunday to sell vegetables is to raise enough money so my sick mother and I aren’t living on the street? My mother never had enough money to send me to school so I’m stuck as a poor, illiterate farmer boy for the rest of my life? It’s not exactly a relatable story for a prince.” Kagami says bitterly.

“I know that I can’t relate, Kagami…but you can still talk to me about it. If you’ll talk I’ll listen.” Aomine admits, but Kagami remains silent. “What happened to the man I met that said money wasn’t everything? That as long as he had his mother, he was content with his life?” He continued.

“He’s still in here...somewhere…” Kagami says.

“Your mother cares about you so much and it’s so obvious she loves you more than anything in the world. To my parents, I’m just an heir, nothing more. You’re lucky to have someone like her in your life.” He tries to comfort Kagami.

“That’s true, but I’m also lucky to have you in my life, Aomine. I'm glad that I have someone to talk to about this.” Kagami says, still avoiding eye contact with Aomine.

“W-what are you try to say?” Aomine stammers over his words, a blush rising to his cheeks for the umpteenth time. 

“I meant exactly what I said, idiot! Don’t make me repeat it!” Kagami lightly shoves Aomine, making him laugh.

“Ah, there’s the old Kagami I used to know!” Aomine smiled at him, finally making eye contact with Kagami, which makes his heart race a little faster. Kagami stares back for a few moment, but decides to break the contact and stare back at the ground. 

“It’s just a shame that you’ll leave me soon.” Kagami admits.

“What do you mean?” Aomine questions.

“That girl your mother dragged you away to have dinner with…she’s going to be the next queen right? You’re going to marry her?” Kagami said bitterly.

This time, it was Aomine’s turn to be silent before speaking up, “I didn’t agree to it, but yeah…that’s the plan. How did you know?” 

“I know how these things go, Aomine. You think you’re the first arranged royal marriage ever?” Kagami raises his eyebrow to him, before getting up to head back inside his house.

Seeing this, Aomine abruptly stands up and quickly latches onto Kagami’s arm, holding him in place. “Well, no! But…in the end, it’s ultimately both our decisions still. It was just something set up by our parents because they have some kind of agreement and—”

“Why are you being so defensive? What do you have to prove to me? Do you love her?” Kagami asks, his back still facing Aomine.

“Of course I don’t! I…I-I have feelings for someone else.” Aomine stutters out, causing Kagami to turn around face the man.

“Someone else? She must be a very lucky girl.” Kagami says, looking away.

“This _guy_ has really bright hair and crazy-looking eyebrows that are divided in the middle that I met not too long ago. He calls me names and he’s very blunt. But at the same time, he’s very hardworking and dedicated to people he loves and cares about…he’s just…too dumb to realize.” Aomine is blushing like crazy now.

Aomine pauses before he continues, "Although it has been a short time since we met, I can’t stop thinking about him. It's almost as if some divine being out there is telling my heart to give him a chance. To let him in...that he won't hurt me like everyone has. It's almost crazy to think about...that I, Aomine Daiki, would have someone care about me for _me_ , and not what I could do for them."

“What are you trying to say, Aomine?” 

“I don't run in the damn pouring rain and ruin my clothes for just anyone, idiot! Don't make me repeat myself!” Aomine is so embarrassed at his lame confession that he just resorts to name calling.

“You…you don’t care about me being some poor, illiterate farmer boy?” Kagami asked honestly.

“Well, ‘farmer boy’, I don’t know you as a farmer, so as far as I know, you’re a basic working citizen…” Aomine attempts to quote Kagami, making him laugh. 

"Everything will be alright, Kagami. You...your mother...everything..." Aomine reassures him one final time.He takes this opportunity to pull Kagami in a close, tight hug.

“Kagami, no one has ever made me feel like you do.” Aomine says only loud enough for Kagami to hear. Finally, when Aomine could feel Kagami's arms wrap around his neck, they both jump apart when they hear someone clear their throat.

“Aomine-kun, I’ve come to pick you up before we head back.” Kuroko says, unfazed. Kuroko gazes at the two men, now completely red at being caught in the moment.

“Tetsu? How long have you been standing there?” Aomine gasps.

“Long enough.” He says, blank expression never changing.

“L-let’s just go. Kagami, I’ll see you later.” Aomine stammers out, running down the porch and speed walks away from Kagami’s house, leaving the redhead completely embarrassed on the porch by himself.

“I’m guessing you had a good time while my back was turned?” Kuroko says with a slight smirk forming on his lips.

“Shut up! I need you to do me a favor, Tetsu.” 

**//**

The next day, Kagami lazily pulled himself off the floor where he slept. He didn’t get to sleep at all because he just kept imagining the pictures and images of last night’s events over and over in his head, causing his heart to beat so fast that he couldn’t possibly fall asleep.

Kagami’s thoughts were suddenly halted when he heard a gentle knock on the door. Aomine? No, it was too gentle to be him. He hesitantly turned the door knob and opened the door, revealing an old man with a white coat and stethoscope around his neck.

“Can I help you?” Kagami asked, obviously confused.

“Is this the Kagami household?” The old man peers inside the house.

“Yes, what can I do for you?” Kagami says skeptically.

“I received a house call visit for this residence.” He answers.

“Oh no, nobody here called for a doctor. Besides, we don’t even have any money to pay you for your services...” Kagami continued.

“Oh don’t worry, this visit and the medicine I brought with me was already fully paid for ahead of time.” The doctor smiled and stepped inside the house, heading towards where Kagami's mother slept.

As Kagami sat and observed the doctor perform an examination on his mother, he couldn’t help but smile in his chair. “Aomine…you really are something else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> otp tears


	6. self-fulfilling prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pure chaos and heartbreak

Aomine glanced out the window in his bedroom, trying his best to peer through the trees and see if he could see Kagami’s house from there. Of course, he couldn’t, but he still wanted to try.

“Aomine-kun.” Kuroko calls from behind him, making Aomine jump in surprise.

“Tetsu, learn how to make some _damn_ footsteps! What do you want?” Aomine attempts to rearrange his body to make himself seem like he was doing something normal.

“You can’t see Kagami-san’s house from here.” Kuroko states plainly.

Aomine blushes a little, “I-I wasn’t looking for him!” 

“Anyway, I came here to tell you that you have a guest that has requested your presence.” Kuroko says, unfazed by Aomine’s reaction.

“Tell them to leave. I don’t want to see anyone.” 

“But—“Kuroko was interrupted once again.

“Tell.Them.To.Leave.” Aomine spells out plainly.

Kuroko could only sigh at his friend’s behavior, “Alright, I’ll tell Kagami-san to leave.”

Upon hearing this, Aomine practically jumped out of his seat, grabbing onto Kuroko’s shoulders. “Kagami is _here_? Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” 

“You never asked. Well I’ll go tell Kagami-san to leave as you requested.” He shrugged.

“Kuroko you damn well better not!” Aomine yells as he fixes his hair quickly and runs out of the room, dragging Kuroko behind him. He nearly tripped on his own feet running down the numerous staircases that led from his bedroom to the main entrance. Finally, Aomine spotted the tall redhead standing in the doorway.

“Kagami! What are you doing here?” Aomine says excitedly.

“I just came by to talk to you…tell your guards to let me through!” Kagami commented on the entrance guards blocking his path. Aomine gave them a signal, and they quickly moved out of his way.

“Talk to me about what?” Aomine asked.

Kagami hesitated, glancing at everyone staring at the two men and eavesdropping on their conversations. 

“Everyone leave if you want to keep your jobs!” Aomine yells, causing everyone in the palace to quickly run out the front door and leaving the two men alone. 

“I uh— I wanted to thank you for paying for the doctor visit. It turns out my mom’s sickness is just benign and temporary and with the medicine we got, she should be fine in a couple of days. You don’t know how much of huge relief it is for me to know that…” Kagami smiles at Aomine, tears welling up in his eyes. 

“Really? Kagami I’m so happy for you! I’m so glad your mother is going to be alright!” Aomine says, wrapping his arms around Kagami once again.

“Yeah…and it’s all thanks to you, Aomine… I—“Kagami was interrupted by a loud commotion outside of the entrance doors. Suddenly, he hears more noises and shouting from multiple people.

“What’s going on?” Kagami asks, pulling away from Aomine.

“Please stop, the prince has specifically requested that nobody enter! He's having a private meeting!” They hear Kuroko shout from the outside.

“I have no idea—“Aomine was cut off by the doors swinging open suddenly, revealing a very exhausted, out-of-breath, Momoi. 

“Aomine-kun, what is the meaning of this? Why is everyone trying to stop me from coming in?” She frowned.

“Momoi, what the hell are you doing here? They were trying to stop you from coming in because I kicked them all out! I’m trying to have a private conversation!” He complained.

Momoi glanced at Kagami, who immediately felt uneasy under her gaze. “Who is this? I've never seen him before.” She asked.

“It doesn’t matter who it is, you can’t just come in here any time that you feel like it!” Aomine said, putting his hands on her shoulders, guiding her back towards the door.

Momoi abruptly spins around and latches onto his torso, “Why do I have to leave? This will be my palace soon too!” 

“I’m not marrying you for the last time! Stop making me repeat myself! There are other princes you can marry!” Aomine attempts to peel her off of him.

“Well I want to marry you!” She chimed.

“You don’t know the first damn thing about me! You’re nothing but some love-struck teenage fangirl.” Aomine was clearly irritated.

Upon hearing this, Momoi immediately let go. After all, it was completely true. “Just tell me one good reason why we shouldn’t get married and I’ll call it off. No string attached.” She pouted.

Now, it was Aomine’s turn to get nervous. His brain nearly imploded from racing through all the worldly excuses he could possibly use that didn’t involve his infatuation with Kagami. “Um…” Aomine scratches his head and quickly glances at Kagami, who is looking as equally nervous.

Momoi waits a few more moments before cutting Aomine’s train of thought. “See! There are no reasons! Seems like I’ll be your wife in a couple of days! Stop avoiding your duties and potentially ruining your life! It's our responsibility to take care of all these citizens in this kingdom and we can only do that if we're both reigning king and queen.” She lectures.

“I don't give a shit! Shut up and leave already!” Aomine yelled, irritation taking over his normal tone.

“Alright, I’ll leave! The next time we meet will be on our wedding day!” She quickly pulls him down to give him a kiss on the cheek. Before he gets the chance to complain, she’s already out of the door.

Aomine looks at Kagami, who is carefully looking anywhere in the room but at Aomine. “I uh…I’m sorry you had to see that.” He sighs.

“It’s fine...so...a couple of days huh?" Kagami tried to make light conversation.

"That's the plan. I've been racking my brain non-stop to come up with ways to get out of it! But you know, my mom... she might explode if I said "no" during the ceremony. She'll just go on and on about responsibility and the future of the kingdom... it's actually really annoying." Aomine sighed.

"i think that you should marry her." Kagami said plainly.

Aomine was astounded, "What did you say?"

"i think...that you should marry her." Kagami repeated himself.

"Why would you say that? You come all the way over here to tell me to marry somebody else?" Aomine was hurt.

"I already knew that I was going to visit a married man when I came here today.” Kagami gave a soft, bitter chuckle.

“That’s not true! I’m not married!” Aomine defended.

“You mean, you’re not married yet! You’re going to marry her and you’re going to take your title as king. You’ll have kids with her to take the titles of prince and princess. You’ll forget all about me in a few years’ time. Don't ruin your future because of me... you're going against the grain. Like the princess said, you have responsibilities you have to fulfill." Kagami said, a dejected look plastered on his face.

Aomine grabbed a hold of Kagami’s forearms, causing him to look him in the eye. “That’s not true, Kagami! Please trust me when I say this…that there’s nobody in the world that can make me forget you.” 

Kagami pulled his arms away, “You’re going to marry another person of royalty to maintain status within the kingdom. It’s some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy of some sorts, actually. So…stop saying things like that…things that I want to hear...you’re only dragging me along for the ride. If being with me is stopping you from doing your duty, just tell me to leave and you’ll never see me again.” 

“Kagami…I can’t. I don’t want you to leave.” Aomine said desperately, pleading almost.

“I should’ve known it was going to turn out this way. If only we all could get the things that we want…I’m sorry, Aomine.” Kagami said before turning around to quickly leave as fast as he came, and Aomine could watch as he left. 

Aomine was so astonished at what just happened, he didn’t even notice Kuroko entering the room again. 

“Aomine-kun? Are you alright?” Kuroko asked, worried about his friend’s distressed face.Aomine snapped out of his trance, and his devastation immediately turned into fury. 

“ _Fuck_!!” Aomine screams and turns around, delivering a powerful punch to a nearby window, glass shattering and lodging in his hand.

Aomine fell on his knees to the floor, bending forward, clutching his injured hand and screaming random obscenities at nobody in particular. Kuroko immediately came to his aid and crouched beside him. 

Although Kuroko was first alarmed by the blood spilling out of his glass-filled wound, he was more shocked by Aomine’s tears running down his face.

“Aomine-kun…” Kuroko was concerned for his friend, but Aomine merely continued to close his eyes tightly in a bleak attempt to stop his tears from coming out. 

Kuroko draped an arm around Aomine’s neck, pulling his head to his shoulder, cradling him. “Come on, Aomine-kun. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im SO sorry...again...
> 
> the next chapter will be the last one!
> 
> xoxo


	7. interlacing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the wedding ceremony!!

“Aomine-kun, please don’t frown when you reach the altar. Everyone from the kingdom is coming to watch this marriage ceremony, so please smile.” Kuroko commented, fixing Aomine’s hair.

“How can I smile on a day like this? I feel like I’m walking to my death bed.” Aomine’s frown only deepened. 

“I bet your mother is really happy, though.” Kuroko said after putting the finishing touches on Aomine’s hair.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Before you came, all that I heard was ‘Daiki, you better not say no’, ‘Daiki, I have guards waiting at all entrances and exits’, and ‘Daiki, think of the future of this kingdom that your father built!’ Like damn! I told her to go nag somebody else!” Aomine’s frown practically reached the bottom of his chin.

“So where is she now?” Kuroko asked.

“With that annoying Momoi in that other room! They can be go be irritating all they want over there.” Aomine grumbled.

“Momoi-san still has the opportunity say no, though.” Kuroko commented, reaching for Aomine’s hand to take off his bandages.

“Hell has a better chance of freezing over than her saying no. She’s very intent on marrying me.” Aomine sighed. 

Moments of silence passed between the two as Kuroko focused on rewrapping Aomine’s injured hand. Finally, Aomine spoke up. “Tetsu, do you think I’m making a mistake?”

“What do you mean?” Kuroko chimed.

“Do you think if I go through with this…I’ll regret it for the rest of my life?” Aomine closed his eyes, deep in thought.

“If this is about Kagami-san…I think the only person who can answer that is you, Aomine-kun. If it’s truly meant to be, then it will be. That’s what I believe, anyway.” Kuroko gave a light smile. 

“I wish I was as optimistic as you, Tetsu! Too bad Kagami wants nothing to do with me…” Aomine groaned.

“Are you sure about that, Prince-sama?” A familiar voice chimed in behind the two, causing them to turn around.

Aomine was frozen, mouth agape and Kuroko merely remained straight-faced. Kuroko stood up suddenly, heading towards the door, “I’ll see you downstairs, Aomine-kun.” He says before closing the door behind him and leaving the two men in the room alone.

“What are you doing here? This wedding is invite-only.” Aomine asked, stunned.

“It’s nice to see you too. Also, Kuroko invited me.” Kagami says, holding up his paper invitation. 

“Damn it! Tetsu is always scheming something!” Aomine yells at no one in particular.

“Don’t worry, I’m not staying long. I just wanted to talk to you before the ceremony, then I’ll leave. I promise.” Kagami says, stepping forward, making Aomine’s heart beat faster for maybe the final time.

**//**

“Ahhh! Momoi-san, you look so beautiful! I can’t wait for you and Daiki to have children!” Aomine’s mother was practically glowing with excitement.

“I’m excited as well! But first, I have to be accustomed to being the new queen! I’m not sure what to expect.” Momoi said, looking at herself in the mirror.

“Well I’m sure you and Daiki will be able to work through it together. I have faith.” She says, zipping the back of Momoi’s dress.

“I’m not so sure. I don’t think he has taken a liking to me yet.” Momoi says uneasily.

“Oh well, he’ll get used to it! In an hour, you’ll be married! Then, you can go off and do all these fun activities together and bond with your new marriage!” His mother says excitedly.

“Activities? I don’t have the slightest idea of what he likes to do…” Momoi frowns.

“You know, I’m not so sure myself. I don’t know much about Daiki…but I’m sure you can peek in his room and ask him yourself.” His mother admits.

“You’re right, I’ll talk to him one more time before we head to the altar. Thank you so much for everything!” Momoi hugs Aomine’s mother before exiting and heading towards Aomine’s room.

“I hope he doesn’t mind me sneaking in!” Momoi says to herself, twisting the doorknob to his room, but stopping halfway when she sees someone else in the room. 

‘That’s the man I saw earlier!’ She thinks to herself before slowly closing the door, with pure temptation making her leave the door cracked as she stands outside. 

She leans her head back, trying to enhance her hearing comprehension of the conversation at hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m not staying long. I just wanted to talk to you before the ceremony, then I’ll leave. I promise.” She hears the redhead man say. Perhaps she came just in time?

**//**

“What did you come here for?” Aomine asks plainly.

“You look nice.” Kagami says, pointing at Aomine’s adorned clothing.

“Damn it, stop avoiding the question!” Aomine demanded. 

“I just came by to make sure you were really going to go through with it.” Kagami says, determination emanating in his tone. 

“What the hell, Kagami? Why are you so eager to marry me off to somebody else?” Aomine was hurt once again.

“I’m just doing what’s best for you!” Kagami says, looking away from Aomine’s gaze.

“How do you what’s best for me? What’s best for me is being with you, but you keep pushing me away! Why?” Aomine demands answers. 

“Don’t be a damn idiot! I can’t have you throwing your life away for me. Your future is downstairs, waiting for you at the altar.” Kagami raises his voice a bit.

“That’s funny because I see my future right here, in front of me.” Aomine steps forward, grabbing Kagami’s arm and causing him to look him in the eye.

Aomine continues once more, “I have strong feelings for you, Kagami. With a little more time, I definitely know these feelings will blossom into love. I’ve never felt like this with anyone ever before so…stop pushing me away. Stop running and tell me what you want. Don’t me fall for you and then break my heart, damn it Kagami!” He could feel tears begin to well up in his eyes once more.

Kagami is about to respond, but then he feels chills when glances down and sees Aomine’s freshly wrapped bandages around his fingers and knuckles. “You did this because of me?” He asks, grabbing his badly injured hand.

Aomine said nothing and merely looked another direction, signifying an admission.

“Don’t do this because of me. It hurts me seeing you this way.” Kagami felt guilty.

“Who would’ve thought that emotional pain hurts incredibly more than physical pain?” Aomine chuckles bitterly.

“Where does it hurt, Aomine? Show me.” Kagami says. Aomine grabs Kagami’s wrist, pulling it forward until the pads of his fingers lightly touched his chest.

“Right _here_.” Aomine says softly, a single tear rolling down his cheek. 

At this point, Kagami couldn’t hold back anymore. He immediately wrapped his arms around Aomine, hugging him tightly to his chest.

Suddenly, they both hear the church bells begin to ring, signifying the start of the wedding ceremony.

“Well…it looks like my time is finally up.” Kagami says forcing a sad smile, but Aomine doesn’t move an inch.

“Aomine…I’m so sorry…for everything. Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Kagami says, squeezing a little tighter. 

**//**

At this point, Momoi closes the door fully shut, feeling as if she saw and heard something she shouldn’t have. 

Momoi herself was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. Aside from the fact that her future husband was practically in love with another man, but she felt guilty that she had eavesdropped on their incredibly private conversation. Not only that, but she also felt that she played a role in breaking apart what seemed to be a genuine romance, which was the total opposite of her arranged one.

Momoi nearly shrieked when she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

“Momoi-san, what are you doing outside of Aomine-kun’s door? Did you need him or Kagami-kun for something?” Kuroko says with his token poker face.

“I swear I didn’t mean to eavesdrop!” She panics.

“I never said you were.” Kuroko blinked, his expression not changing, although she could feel that he was smirking.

“Whatever!” She puffs her cheeks out.

“Momoi-san, the bells are beginning to ring. We have to make our way down to the wedding hall, so please head over soon.” Kuroko says nonchalantly. 

When Kuroko notices that Momoi is uncharacteristically silent, he speaks up once more. “Momoi-san, may I ask what’s wrong?” He asks, regarding her pout.

“It’s nothing…I’m just wondering…if Daiki will ever look at me the same way he looks at Kagami.” She says, a sad smile on her lips before she turns around and heads towards the to the hallway.

**//**

Kagami pulled away from Aomine first, clearing his throat and patting his clothes. 

“Well, I guess it’s time for me to go.” Kagami says once more, reminding Aomine that he has to leave as well.

“Right…” Aomine says, face absolutely devastated. His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a door knock and saw the door swing open.

“Aomine-kun, it’s time.” Kuroko says, eyes half-open hoping he wasn’t interrupting any special moments.

“It’s fine, I was just on my way out. Thanks for everything, Kuroko.” Kagami says, putting a hand on his shoulder and bowing slightly.

Kagami turned around, looking over his shoulder once more, to say a final message to Aomine. “I have a feeling that this won’t be the last time we see each other.” Aomine didn’t have the chance to think of a response before Kagami was gone again.

“Let’s go, Kuroko.” Aomine says, walking out of the door with a fast pace. 

Kuroko runs to catch up, examining Aomine’s appearance one more time. “Please wipe your face before entering the hall, Aomine-kun. Momoi-san is already in there waiting for you.” He reminds him.

**//**

Aomine finally arrives in front of the wedding hall doors, hesitating for a moment before pushing the double doors open at the same time.

Cheers and smiles from the crowds suddenly filled the room when everyone set eyes on the soon-to-be king. Aomine paid no mind to the various compliments people were shouting from the crowd and quickly walked down the aisle with Kuroko following closely behind.

Aomine finally arrived at the altar, standing face-to-face with Momoi, who instantly grabbed a hold on his hand. He tried to pull away, but she only laced her fingers within his with a death grip. 

Aomine could only sigh at her overbearing personality. While the minister began the opening speech, Aomine could only think of Kagami. How he could think of that idiot redhead while another pinkhead girl was squeezing the blood out of his hand was beyond his own comprehension. Was he really going to go through with it? 

Aomine stood there, zoned out throughout the whole speech, until he heard the minister call his name. “Aomine-san– do you take this Momoi-san to be your wife; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?” He asks, awaiting his answer.

Aomine hesitates, taking a quick glance where Kuroko stood, the man communicating almost telepathically with his eyes ‘ _Are you sure_?’ or “ _What about Kagami_?’. Aomine takes another glance on the other side of the minister, where his mother stood, her gaze piercing his soul. He takes a final glance to look at Momoi, her bright, pink eyes full of anxiety, confusion, and hesitancy. 

Aomine let out a long, exasperated sigh, before mumbling a quick “I do” under his breath, causing an immediate smiley to plaster on his mother’s face. 

The minister turned towards Momoi, asking her the same question. “Momoi-san– do you take Aomine-san to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

Momoi took this time to glance Aomine, whose eyes were focused on the ground, and face looking absolutely distressed as if he made the biggest mistake of his life just then. Images of the conversation she had seen and heard between Aomine and Kagami flashed through her mind. The mental picture of Aomine’s desperation of asking Kagami not to leave him…

Momoi could feel his clammy, cold hands shaking with uncertainty, and she opens her mouth to finally speak.

“I’m sorry, Daiki. I can’t marry you.” She says suddenly, drawing gasps of shock from the crowd.

“What?” Aomine says, looking at her with wide eyes.

“I was having cold feet at ruling such a large kingdom as this one, and I began talking to a prince of a smaller kingdom. I’m in love with him, but I couldn’t bear to break the news to Daiki. I’m sorry Daiki. I’m sincerely sorry, everyone. I’ll accept full responsibility.” She says bowing to the crowd. Aomine is left speechless, his mouth hanging open at the change in the tide.

Kuroko stepped forward, trying to calm the crowd and Aomine’s hysterical mother, bursting into tears. “Everyone, please calm down! Please excuse the royal couple so that they have time to mediate their differences.” He raises his voice a bit, giving Aomine the signal to leave. 

Aomine grabs Momoi’s wrist, and gently, but quickly pulls her down the aisle and through the hall doors, shutting them closed behind them.

“What the _hell_ kind of stunt are you trying to pull?” Aomine asks, raising his voice slightly.

“Wow, what kind of _ungrateful_ prince are you!” She huffs at him, crossing her arms.

“What?” He is completely confused.

“I lied, Daiki! Obviously I was dead-set on marrying you.” She says, arms still crossed with impatience.

“Then, why?” He asks once more.

“I overheard your conversation between you and Kagami.” She admits.

“What the hell? You were spying on me?”

“I admit I should’ve walked away, but I couldn’t! I saw how much you cared about him and how our marriage was getting in the way of you two getting together. I know how much this meant to your mom…so I took the high road and took the blame.” She confessed. 

At this point, he couldn’t possibly be angry at her. “Why did you do all of this for me?” 

“I really liked you, Daiki. Since I like you so much, I don't want to be the reason that you're so unhappy. I want you to be happy, even if that means not being with me.” She says, smiling at him slightly.

“I’m sorry it had to be this way and that it didn’t work out, but I lo—“ 

“I get it. I understand.” Momoi says, cutting him off.

“I hope that you’ll meet that prince of yours soon.” Aomine says, pulling her in close and giving her a quick forehead kiss. 

“Leave before I take it back!” She blushes slightly and pushing him away. 

“Right!” He smiles at her one more time, before running out of the door towards the woods.

**//**

Kagami rolled up the bottoms of his pants and dipped his feet in the cold water from the river, sighing over the day’s events. It wasn’t like him to feel so down and out, but this time, he really couldn’t help it. Did he really encourage Aomine to get married to someone else? Was he really that stupid?

“Agh, I’m so _stupid_! I can’t believe this!” Kagami screams at himself, burying his head in his lap.

“Finally, you listen to what I’ve said for weeks now.” A voice resonates from behind him, making him turn around so fast, he almost gets whiplash in his neck.

“Aomine? What the _hell_?” Kagami gasps at him.

“It’s nice to see you too.” Aomine says, mocking their earlier conversation.

“How are you even standing here right now?” Kagami asks, disregarding the other’s blatant attempt at irritating him.

“I’m using my legs.” Aomine’s poor attempt at humor only pisses Kagami off.

“Aomine, seriously!”

“Long story, short, Momoi called the wedding off and took the blame for all of it.” Aomine explained, taking a seat next to Kagami on the edge of the riverbed and placing the bag he carried with him beside his legs.

“So…you’re not married?” Kagami asks for clarification.

“Farthest from it!” Aomine smiles at him. 

“But why? She seemed pretty obsessed with you.” Kagami asks.

“…Because she eavesdropped on our conversation and she felt bad for coming between us…there is an “us” still right?” It was Aomine this time, asking for clarification.

This time, it was Kagami’s turn to smile, “Yeah, there’s an us.” He says, grinning that stupid angelic smile that Aomine loved to hate. 

He couldn’t resist this time.

Aomine cupped Kagami’s face, turning his head towards him and slowly leaned forwards, stopping a few centimeters away from Kagami’s lips, waiting for him to respond. Kagami leaned forwards and closed the gap between their mouths, giving Aomine the kiss that they had both been waiting for, for what seemed like forever.

When they briefly parted, Aomine look at Kagami’s blushing face, bringing a smile to own his face. He lightly grabbed Kagami’s hand and as they joined hands, Aomine asks once more, “Kagami, will you be mine?”   
Kagami nods quickly, joining their lips for a second time, but this time, with more intensity and passion behind it.

When they both broke apart, they looked at each other for a moment, before both bursting into a fit of laughter. 

“Oi, Aomine! You’re so damn corny!” Kagami pokes fun at Aomine.

“Hey! I was in the moment, okay!” Aomine pouts.

“Whatever!” Kagami continues laugh, despite the other’s protests.

“Oh yeah, I forgot something!” Aomine chimed, digging in the bag he placed next to his leg.

“What are you doing?” Kagami asks.

“You are my queen now!” Aomine says, proudly placing his crown onto Kagami’s head. 

It takes a moment for his sentence to finally comprehend and register in Kagami’s head. Kagami calmly reaches his hand up to touch the crown, and then grabbing it, observing it in his lap.

“Do you like it? That could be yours one day!” Aomine says proudly, his face gleaming with enthusiasm.

“Don’t call me a queen, you damn bastard!” Kagami says angrily, chucking the crown into the flowing river. 

“Oh my _god_ , why did you do that? I regret what I said already! I take it all back! Go away!” Aomine gasps at Kagami’s pure audacity to do that.

Kagami can only laugh harder at Aomine’s reaction. “No, I’m stuck with you forever now!” Kagami doesn’t realize what he said until after it left his mouth, causing him to blush a deep crimson.

“I, uh… what I meant was…” Kagami says, searching for an excuse.

“It’s fine, I’ll have another one made. But Kagami…” Aomine trails off.

“Yeah?”

“Who is the corny one now?” Aomine grins at him this time, wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

“Shut up! You love it!” Kagami laughs along, pushing him off. 

Aomine is about to protest, but then he just smiles at Kagami once more. "Yeah I do." He says gently, grabbing Kagami's hand and interlacing their fingers once more.

 

**End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the otp tears are REAL right now  
> i hope you guys noticed that the breaks are meant for simultaneous events!!   
> thank you guys for reading my fic and sticking by me as I updated my story!  
> hope you all enjoyed it :)
> 
> for additional otp tears for after you finish my fic, there are several songs that describe their relationship in such a perf way:  
> For Kagami: What's Best For You by Trey Songz  
> For Aomine: Someone by Musiq Soulchild
> 
> xoxo,  
> mozanii


	8. epilogue --  by the place where we first met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a fun little epilogue that shows a glimpse of the daily lives of aokaga
> 
> no drama, just fun and love :^)

“Okay, so Daiki, the goal is to remain perfectly still so you don’t scare off the fish with your presence. Then, when they get within reach, hurl that spear with such force so that you pierce it and catch it. It’s that simple!” Kagami explains for what seems like the tenth time.

“Stop telling me, I can do it!” Aomine frowns, stepping back into the water.

“Only the shallow part, okay?” Kagami directs once more.

“Leave me alone, I can do this without your directions!” Aomine yells back from the river.

“You say you can, but your screaming is scaring off the fish, you know!” Kagami laughs, causing Aomine to frown even deeper.

Aomine stands in the middle of the slowly-moving river, raising his spear in his hand to get into position. Finally, after a few minutes, an adequate-sized fish swims near Aomine, causing his heart to beat with anticipation.

Aomine takes aim, hurls his spear with all of his power, then rushes over to see what he caught. He pulls up his spear, revealing nothing but water on the end of his stick.

Kagami bursts into another fit of laughter, “See! It’s not so easy is it, Daiki? It’s been a whole year and you’re still not good at this!”

“Shut up! Why can’t we just buy fish from the market?” Aomine groaned, ready to give up.

“Why waste money when you can catch it right here for _free_ and it’s fresh!?” Kagami pointed out.

“—Because it’s convenient and easy!” Aomine retorted.

“Just say you can’t do it and we can go buy some fish!” Kagami said, giving Aomine a smirk.

Aomine stepped back further into the water, “I can do—.“

_Splash._

Kagami jumped up, running into the water looking for Aomine. “Daiki?” A few seconds later, a navy blue head popped out of the water, completely soaked and most importantly, completely pissed off. 

Kagami laughs once again at his face, “Idiot! I told you not to step back too far! You know the ground is uneven in this river!” Kagami steps forward, stopping before the ground begins to slope downwards, and lending Aomine his hand.

Aomine reaches his hand out of the water slowly, reaching towards Kagami’s hand. Suddenly, he changes his mind and grabs Kagami’s wrist, pulling him forward and soaking him too. Now, it was Aomine’s turn to laugh.

“Daiki, what the hell? _Why?_ ” Is all Kagami could ask. 

“Why _not_? If I have to suffer to catch this stupid fish, then you’re going to too!” Aomine finally stops laughing. 

Suddenly, Aomine feels a familiar cold sensations, as Kagami uses all of his arm strength to splash water onto his face.

“That’s what you get!” Kagami says, grin spreading across his face.

“Excuse me?” Aomine said, splashing him back to return the favor.

“Don’t start something you’re gonna regret, idiot!” Kagami says laughing, splashing him once more.

“You started it!” Aomine laughs back, this time, using both arms to splash Kagami. He's surprised when Kagami doesn't retaliate and merely turns his back to Aomine.

Kagami suddenly waddles as fast he can back to the shore with Aomine following soon after.

"What's the matter? Had enough?" Aomine smirks.

Kagami suddenly turns, around, holding a large fish in his hands. "No, I caught dinner!" He says, smiling at Aomine who is now looking at him wide-eyed.

"Taiga, what the hell? You caught it with your hands?" Aomine gaped when Kagami put the fish on the ground for later.

"I wasn't joking when I said I spent a lot of time at the river growing up. You shouldn't be surprised! It was only a matter of time before we met since I'm always here." Kagami pointed out.

"Right..." Aomine says, smiling at the memory.

"In fact, I'm surprised we haven't met sooner! It must've been fate guiding you here on that day." Kagami says, wrapping his hands around Aomine's waist, bringing him close.

"Wow, I must be one lucky guy." Aomine smiles and wraps his arms around Kagami's neck, and burrowing his face into him.

"I love you, Daiki." Kagami admits, blushing slightly.

"Kagami..." Aomine pauses, causing Kagami to pull away from him and wonder what was possibly on his mind. "...I'm not going to be full with just one fish." He says, breaking their intimate moment and smirking at Kagami's reaction.

Kagami can't believe this. With all his might, he pushes Daiki back into the river, soaking him once again. "Catch your own damn fish, dumbass!" Kagmai says, face red from bother anger and blush.

"I love you too, Taiga." Aomine smiles, because that's a face only he could love for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all again for your words of encouragement!!  
> i wrote this just for yall  
> i hope it was as lighthearted as i imagined it in my head lmao
> 
> xoxo , Mozanii

**Author's Note:**

> because let's face it  
> aomine is a prince whether it's an AU or not honestly


End file.
